How a Good Guy With a Gun Saved a Police Officer in Utah

Liberals will tell you all day long that there really is no such thing as a “good guy with a gun” event. It just doesn’t happen. And when they say things like that, they probably aren’t even knowingly lying. It’s just that none of these episodes – which happen virtually every day in this country – ever make it onto the front page of the New York Times. Hell, the media almost acts as though they’re allergic to these kinds of heroic stories. Almost as if they had an agenda of some kind.

You know, almost as if.

But yes, they do happen, and it’s worth it every now and then to spread these stories around. Not only do these stories serve to beat back the narrative that guns are only good for committing crimes and killing yourself, they also show that there are still some real men out there, willing to put their own personal safety at risk to help others. This is, incidentally, another narrative the mainstream media would love us to ignore.

Fox 13 first reported the incident, which unfolded last Friday afternoon in Springville, Utah. After spotting an individual diving for stolen treasure in a charity donation bin, a Springville police officer approached and instructed him to get out and identify himself. The man, Paul Douglas Anderson, got out as instructed but kept his hands hidden in his pockets, alarming the officer. The officer demanded that Anderson remove his hands for fear that he might be concealing a weapon, but the thief refused this request multiple times. “When Anderson finally removed his hands,” reported Fox 13, “he used them to punch the officer in the face.”

Anderson apparently got the best of the officer because he was still pounding on him when a motorist named Derek Meyer drove by and saw what was happening.

Meyer jumped out of his car, drew his pistol, and instantly became the hero of the day.

From Fox 13:

“I carry a gun to protect me and those around me, but primarily I carry a gun to protect my family first and foremost,” Meyer said. “Outside of that, if I were to use my gun to protect anyone it would be law enforcement or military personnel.”

He told Fox 13 he got out of his car, drew his weapon and pointed it at Anderson, yelling at him to get off the officer and stop assaulting him.

Meyer said when Anderson saw the gun, he stopped and ran off. Immediately, other officers responded to the scene and Meyer put his weapon away.

Police eventually caught up to the suspect and arrested him. Anderson turned out to be one of those ne’er-do-wells who is always in and out of jail. For assaulting a police officer, we’d imagine this particular stint in lockup is going to be longer than his last.

But it could have turned out much worse had it not been for Meyer, who proved Friday that people lawfully carrying guns are not the problem in this country. Indeed, quite the opposite, as the Springville Police were only too happy to explain.

“Had he not been in the right place at the right time, who knows what would have happened,” said Corporal Cory Waters. “But he definitely stopped the attack from continuing and becoming much worse. He might have even saved either one of their lives. It could have gone really bad, even for the suspect.”

Cheers to you, Derek Meyer. But let’s pause and reflect on the fact that if a certain contingent in this country had their way, Meyer’s heroic actions might not have been possible. Or, at least, might not have turned out as they did.